subject: Home Inspection Tips: What Real Estate Agents Need To Know [print this page] As a real estate agent you have the responsibility to educate your clients regarding the importance of home inspection. As a real estate agent, you also have to know the things that you need to know regarding this activity. This way, you'll avoid home inspection nightmares. Here are some tips that you can share with your clients later on:
1. Understand the job of home inspectors - knowing that homes must be inspected is not enough. You should know what these experts really check when they inspect a house. What are they looking for and what are the most common problems do they identify?
2. Understand inspection reports - depending on where you are and on the company that was hired to do the inspection, reports may come in various forms. So you really need to familiarize yourself with the terms, abbreviations and jargons used in this industry. Know the basic information that must be included in the report and what information may be disregarded.
3. Not all inspectors are the same - not every inspector will do the same job the same way. There are some who may notice certain problems in an area of a house while others may not notice anything. Over time you'll have someone you'll prefer but avoid recommending anyone to a client. Instead, give them at least 3 to 5 excellent inspectors that you know of.
4. Make your clients understand home inspection - some buyers think that they can back out from the contract if a home inspector finds that the faucet is not working well. This is not always the case. They have to know what they will lose if they back out from the contract. You have to make them understand why a home inspection is made and how it can benefit them.
5. Checklist - by giving your clients a checklist, you somewhat give them an idea what is going on instead of just waiting for the result. You should also inform them about the basic questions they may want to ask, the deadlines and time frame of the entire process.
6. Encourage them to be there - it's better that they also see first-hand the problems that the inspector saw in the house. By attending the inspection, they would also be able to ask some questions and get answers immediately.
7. Don't follow the inspector around - stay out of the way of the inspector to reduce your liability. Also, you are not a qualified inspector so it's better to stay outside and wait for him or her to finish the job.
